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Sunday, October 14, 2012

I Challenge You!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have probably read my posts about the Follett Challenge. It was one of the more amazing experiences of my career, and now it is your turn. The Follett Challenge is back and bigger than ever. If you are like me, you are probably thinking that there is no point in entering because it would never happen to you. I am here to tell you that this isn't the case. I actually waited until the last minute to plan my entry because I had just that attitude. Now I am so thankful that I changed my mind. The $15,000 my school received for its third place win was incredibly beneficial in a year when funds were scarce.

Those funds allowed us to expand our collection. Not only were books purchased for pleasure reading, but we also added books to our nonfiction collection to meet new standards. Also, we were able to add an ebook collection with the FollettShelf. You can't imagine the excitement of teachers and students as all those new books arrived. It has made an immense difference in the resources that we have available for students and teachers. Now that are school is wireless and we have a BYOD environment, our ebook collection is being used more than ever before.

I challenge you to submit an entry for the Follett Challenge. What do you have to lose? I would have lost $15,000, but I guess I wouldn't have known the difference. Having won it, I do know the difference it made for my students and that is what it is all about. Make a difference for your students by showing off what you are doing to prepare students for the 21st Century. The best advice I can give you is to be sure to read the directions carefully. I spent a lot of time making sure I covered all of the requirements. This is a critical step in the process.